Arsenal confirm one of Mikel Arteta’s worst ever signings has officially left the club
Fabio Vieira has joined Hamburger SV on a permanent transfer.
Arsenal have confirmed the departure on their official website, and he will surely go down as one of Mikel Arteta’s worst signings.
Vieira joined from Porto in June 2022 for £34million and made just 49 appearances across all competitions during his four-year stay.
He spent the last two seasons out on loan and definitely didn’t justify his price tag.
There was always potential in Vieira, but he never managed to hold down a starting role.
He had plenty of opportunities during his first season with the club and showed glimpses of real quality — his long-range goal against Brentford in 2022 comes to mind. But ultimately he had minimal impact in the Premier League.
⏪ Last time out at Brentford… pic.twitter.com/LIuT3NcFyn
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 27, 2023
The player Arsenal thought they were signing was completely different to the one who actually turned up at the Emirates.
Unlike his international counterpart Bruno Fernandes — a similarly physically diminutive number 10 signed from Portugal — Vieira struggled with the physicality of playing in England.
We wrote earlier in the summer about how bizarre his situation had become, being involved in pre-season games and then still being at Arsenal on the final day of the window.
But finally, after literal months of talks, he is set to return to Hamburg, where he spent last season on loan. This time, however, it is a permanent switch.
Arsenal initially wanted €18million for Vieira. Hamburg were unwilling to meet that and they have seemingly met in the middle at a fee of around €10million.
His loan spell last season was actually productive, as he produced seven goals and five assists in all competitions. But he was unable to replicate that sort of output at the Emirates.
He goes down as one of the quieter failures of the Arteta era. Nonetheless, we hope he kicks on in Germany.
